Before Fridges

[Vickitoria]

What did people in the olden times do before fridges were invented? I know they used ice boxes, but can you tell me more on the subject because I'm doing this for my homework.

[incitatus]

Ice boxes - (where a large piece of melting ice was held in a lead tray above the items to be kept cool. The lead tray often had a drain built in to stop meltwater dripping on the items below) were used, but only by wealthy households until cheap ice became available in the Victorian era. Before this ice was collected in the winter from ponds and stored in ice houses. Surprisingly this lasted until mid summer.
Before this storage was normally in larders, which had thick stone walls and were normally below ground and so were always cool....a bit like a cave. But in reality people did not preserve food by cooling it, unless they were well off. Food was preserved by salting it, smoking it (bacon for example, and kippers!), drying it, pickling it, bottling it (preserving fruit by putting it in a jar with water or wine or syrup, then heating it to boiling and putting the lid on. an early version of canning), jam making or preserving in brandy.

[vittoria]

I think also, housewives went to the market or shops every morning and bought what they needed for the day's meals and no more (the rich ladies sent their maids). My grandmother (born 1903) told me she used to do this. She was very good at telling how fresh food was from looking and touching; she did not trust shopkeepers as she thought they might try and sell you "yesterday's food"; (although she had a maid, she did not send her out shopping as she did not trust the maid with choosing food, and with the change!). (I am from Italy and I think ice boxes and fridges did not become common in Italy until after the war.)

[vittoria]

Somebody has posted a very similar question in the Internet and Techonology section and there is an answer that might interest you there too.